Unfinished Anthology Resident Evil Side
by aachannoichi
Summary: A plethora of unfinished Resident Evil stories.
1. Chapter 1

Unfinished Anthology Resident Evil Side

Untitled Chris R. Fanfiction

Chris walked into the S.T.A.R.S. office holding a piping hot cup of coffee from Grossman's Deli in his hand. Glancing over at the desk he shared sat Forest, he saw him sitting there contently listening to Judas Priest music through his headphones. With a grin Chris walked over to him and slapped the headphones from his head.

"Morning Forest!" Chris said smiling.

"You suck Redfield!" Forest replied smiling back as he bent over to pick the earphones off the floor. "It's weird seeing you here on time."

"I've been having trouble sleeping." Chris said. "So, you know how it goes."

"Why have you been having trouble sleeping?" Forest asked.

"Yes Chris." Captain Wesker said in an extremely sinister voice. "Why haven't you been sleeping?"

Chris turned and faced Wesker who was standing next to him pointing his Samurai Edge in Chris's face.

"Surely it's not because of me?" Wesker questioned roguishly.

"No." Forest said sorrowfully. "It's because of me."

Chris turned his gaze away from Wesker back to Forest and he was horrified to see that Forest's body was cold and grey. He had bloody cuts all over his once strong arms. His face once full of vigor and enthusiasm was now in shreds of loose skin as blood poured from the horrific wounds. His brown eyes bulged horrifically from their sockets.

"Forest!" Chris screamed frantically. "FOREST!"

"You can't save him Chris." Wesker said cruelly, his entire S.T.A.R.S. uniform drenched in blood. "Nor can you avenge him."

Chris and turned to Wesker, his dark brown eyes flashed with blinding rage, but his actions were arrested by Wesker who still brandished his firearm directly at his face.

"Too bad Chris?" Wesker said sardonically. "You'll never get justice for them or find me…"

Wesker pulled the trigger and a bright flash of white, blue, and orange exploded from the pistol as the bullet erupted from its chamber then sped toward Chris.

Letting out a loud scream as Chris woke up completely sodden in sweat.

"Fuck!" He exclaimed as panting for breath.

It had been a month since the incident in that terrible mansion, yet the nightmares remained. In fact, they got more intense as time passed and the lack of sleep was beginning to unhinge his mind. Chris looked over at the clock, it was about 6:45 in the morning, and this had been the first time in ages he had slept for about four hours, but he was still exhausted. He desperately wanted to go back to sleep, but he knew sleep wasn't going to come easily or be without another disturbing dream. With a sigh, Chris threw the sheets from his soaking wet body and dragged himself out of bed.

Chris walked over to the door to his bathroom and turned on the light. Pulling the shower curtains to the side, he turned the knob and the water began to pour from the faucet, then he turned it to the shower mode and waited for the frosty water to turn warm. Walking back into his bedroom, he turned on the television and paused to hear the news of the day in Raccoon City.

"Good morning Raccoon City." The woman broadcaster began. "We are continuing our coverage of the fire that occurred a month ago in Raccoon Forest. It appears that Arklay County fire fighters have made headway in the month-long blaze, we turn to Candice Monroe live at the scene."

"Fire fighters have finally turned a corner in the fire in the densest part Raccoon forest…"

Chris listened intently to the story and while he was happy that the fire was starting to come under control, he was still dismayed about other aspects of the story.

"Thank you, Candice." The female anchor said as the story ended. "The fire in Raccoon Forest was started when a large-scale illegal narcotics lab exploded killing everyone inside, as well as several members of the Special Tactics And Rescue Service who were investigating the area."

Chris grumbled a few expletives under his breath. An "illegal narcotics lab" was the cover story fed to the media and it made Chris sick to his stomach that they were so easily buying it.

"In other news today a massive house fire in a subdivision in Arklay County are threating to stretch the beleaguered Arklay County fire department to their limits. Reporter Keith Branson has that story."

"Good morning Mary," The reporter began. "A huge house fire broke out in the exclusive Arklay Hills neighborhood in the subdivision of Bella Vista Pointe."

Chris instantly perked up as the reporter started the story. Bella Vista Pointe was where Wesker lived.

"The two-alarm fire broke out in a large private residence at 1470 Madame Curie Lane."

"What the fuck?!" Chris questioned. "That's…"

"The blaze started in the early morning hours and was reported by nearby neighbors." The reporter stated.

"I could smell the smoke and I went to look and see what was happening." An older woman who was a nearby neighbor reported to the newscaster. "I thought maybe it was from that explosion and perhaps it was getting closer, but when I looked out the window, I saw some of the flames from that house fire shooting up, so I called 911. I hope no one was home; the fire seemed really dreadful."

"That fire was indeed terrible." The Reporter continued. "Fire fighters rushed to the scene and worked diligently to put out the blaze. It took about two and a half hours to get the home fire under control. As you can see the entire house was completely gutted."

Chris's jaw practically fell through his apartment floor, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"The fire marshal has deemed the fire suspicious and it will require further investigation."

"Keith can you tell us if anyone was home during the fire?" The anchor woman asked the reporter.

"Investigators say that there was no sign of anyone being at home when the blaze occurred." The reporter answered. "We just received word that this was the residence of S.T.A.R.S Division leader, Captain Albert Wesker, who as you know was one of the S.T.A.R.S members killed in last month's explosion in Raccoon Forest."

Chris ran over to the phone and quickly dialed Jill's number, groggily she answered the phone.

"Sorry to wake you Jill." Chris said frantically. "But we need to meet up ASAP!"

"Chris?" Jill said still trying to fully wake up and comprehend what was going on. "What's happening?"

"Just meet me at Patti's Pancakes up on French Street in about a half hour." Chris said sounding near hysterical.

"Are you ok Chris?" Jill asked sounding extremely concerned.

"No, I'm not." Chris answered.

Abruptly Chris hung up the phone and proceeded to dash off into the shower to prepare for his meeting with Jill.

Thirty minutes later, Chris found himself sitting in a booth at Patti's Pancakes waiting for Jill to arrive. Chris sat thumbing through the print outs of everything he collected since the Mansion Incident a month ago. The majority of the information was on Wesker, which seemed to be an inevitable consequence of the research he was conducting. It appeared that Wesker's spidery fingers were all over everything about that terrible time. Chris took a sip of hot coffee in front of him and continued to nervously thumb through the papers before him waiting patiently for Jill to arrive. Finally, she walked through the door and practically ran over to Chris.

"Are you ok Chris?" Jill asked sounding very worried about him. "You sounded really weird over the phone."

"Wesker's house burned down today." He said dryly.

"When did that happen?" She said sounding surprised.

"It was on the news this morning." He said. "They said it was a suspicious fire."

Jill didn't answer.

"They also said no one was there when the blaze broke out." Chris continued. "But that doesn't mean Wesker didn't set it."

"Yeah." Jill said. "He's destroying everything of his old life completely."

"Seems that way." Chris said practically devoid of emotions. "I was doing some digging on our former "Captain", and it seems that since May, he had been gradually selling off his ample stock in Umbrella."

Chris took out a few pages from his stack and slid them over to Jill who glanced through them.

"Wesker sold his last bit of stock three days before we went up to that mansion." Chris said changing tones from emotionless to bitter. "He made…"

"$10.5 million dollars?!" Jill said reading the number out loud.

"Yeah." Chris said crossly. "He has not only faked death but he also has the financial means to never be found again."

"Chris..."

"I also found out that he had a life insurance policy amounting to well over $20 million dollars with Umbrella." Chris said. "And that is in addition to the death benefit from his time in the army and receiving double the death benefits from RPD."

"Because he was killed in the line of duty." Jill said sorrowfully.

Chris scoffed.

"But he can't collect any of that." Jill said optimistically. "He wasn't married, he didn't have any children, and I remember he said once both his parents were killed in a car accident years ago."

"With some help from one of the ladies in HR, I broke into his personnel file last week." Chris whispered. "Apparently his death benefits are supposed to go to some relative named Earl something or another. I can only assume the rest of his life insurance as well as any other funds left by Wesker will be going to him as well."

"Do you want me to track down this Earl guy?" Jill asked. "If Wesker is still around maybe he can lead us to him."

"Wesker is too smart for that and you know it Jill." Chris said softly. "Besides there's no guarantee that this Earl guy would be willing to help us. I don't trust anyone related to Wesker no matter how distant a relative they may be."

Jill didn't say anything; she knew that Chris was right.

"No." Chris said sternly. "The best thing to do for now is focus on taking Umbrella down."

"Where should we begin?" Jill asked in a hushed tone.

"I can't involve you Jill." Chris said sternly. "I have to do this on my own."

"Don't be like that Chris." Jill implored. "You are going to need all of our help to do this."

Chris paused in thought for a moment. Barry was already gone; he moved his family to a small town in Canada three days after the mansion incident. With his house having just sold, he had to focus on keeping his family safe and secure, so he couldn't ask Barry to just up and take off with him on a huge undertaking like that. His mind then drifted to Rebecca. She was still young and inexperienced. Plus, she suffered terribly after the mansion incident, having some of the worst survivors' guilt he had ever seen. He figured this was normal considering she is the only member of the Bravo Team to make it out of that mission alive. A few days ago, she too moved away from Raccoon City to try to rebuild her life, away from the agony and sorrow of everything that happened.

Then there was Brad, he was such a coward. He would be completely useless if anything went down. The only person left was Jill and he just couldn't bring himself to drag her unwittingly into this. No, she had to stay here, at least here she would be safe. Umbrella wouldn't dare come after her especially knowing that she knew their secrets. No, he wasn't going to put another S.T.A.R.S. member in jeopardy.

"No Jill." Chris said emphatically. "It's not safe right now."

-End-


	2. Chapter 2

Happy Birthday Alex

Alex's ocean blue eyes opened to greet another crisp fall morning, she was happy to have had such a peaceful night's sleep, but she was even more ecstatic that she had dreamt about Albert. Shaking off the early morning grogginess, Alex's eyes scanned quickly for her dream journal, but it was nowhere to be seen, which sent her into a panic. Tossing the sheets from her body and rolling over to search her nightstand drawer, Alex rummaged through everything, yet she did not find her journal. This was not good; her sweet dream was quickly fading away; she didn't want to forget what had taken place in it. It was such a sweet and beautiful vision, a dream of the day she and Albert would finally meet. Stopping her frantic search, Alex tried to calm herself and gently retrace her steps. She was certain she placed the book on her nightstand, as she did every night, but it was gone. Just as she was about to spring out of bed to destroy her room looking for her journal a stern knock came to her bedroom door.

"Come in!" She said sternly.

The brass knob turned and in walked Oswell Spencer and he was holding her dark blue journal.

"Good morning Alex." He said with a sunny smile plastered across his withered aged face as he walked over to her bed.

"Why do you have my journal?" She asked bluntly.

Oswell didn't answer her, he just silently smiled as he planted himself down on her soft plush bed.

"Why do you have my journal!?" She shouted her voice full of indignation.

"Alex my precious." Oswell said sitting the book down between them. "I was just curious about what secrets you could possibly be keeping from me."

Alex snatched the book up from the bed and clutched it tightly to her chest.

"You know I don't like keeping secrets between us Alex." He chided softly.

"I'm an adult!" She protested. "I'm not a child anymore and I can keep whatever secrets I please!"

"Your 18th birthday is tomorrow." Oswell corrected, but managed to keep his composure. "Until then you are still my ward."

Alex flashed her angry blue eyes at Oswell, she wanted to strangle him for taking her journal. She detested being here with him and couldn't wait until she finally became 18, so she could leave this turgid old mansion and its crusty owner behind.

"Come my precious Alex." Oswell said holding out his hand. "You must get ready; you have a long day ahead of you."

Alex's furious blue eyes were still narrowed in anger. Nevertheless, she did have a long day ahead of her, a day full of annoyances and frustrations. These experiments she conducted for Oswell Spencer were an absolute waste of time. Try as she may to alter the progenitor virus, nothing would change its RNA structure enough to accomplish what Spencer had in mind. Maybe in a few years, once the Arklay Project bore fruit, then maybe she could weave some miracle together, but deep down she doubted there would ever be a way to render the progenitor virus's host immortal.

"Alex don't be cross with me." Oswell chided again. "As my ward, I just want to know what you're thinking. I want to know that you're safe and the best way to do that is to not have you keeping secrets from me."

"Fine." She said putting the journal down and getting out of bed on the opposite side of where Oswell sat.

"Alex." Oswell said getting off the bed and walking over to her and holding her close to him. Alex was uneasy, but did not protest. "You are becoming such a fine and beautiful young lady. I remember when you first came to live with me…"

"I really need to get ready." Alex interrupted softly, not in the mood to listen to his nostalgic tale of her childhood.

Oswell sighed softly but let Alex go. Quickly Alex dashed over to her dresser and began to gather items she would need to get ready.

"I will leave you to it then." Oswell walked over towards the door, but did not open it. He just stood there watching her silently get ready.

Once all her things from her dresser were in hand, she walked into her bathroom and sat the items on the dresser, then she quickly back walked out to her room to find Oswell still standing there. Now completely exasperated, Alex walked into her large closet and pulled out her outfit for the day, then laid it on the bed. She looked up from the garment and saw that Spencer was still standing there, watching her every move. Turning her back completely to him, she pulled off her nightgown and held it close to her body.

"You can stop watching me now!" Alex said angrily as she turned slightly to stare at him.

"I'm sorry my precious Alex." Oswell said snapping out of his bizarre gaze. He couldn't help but stare at shapely curves of her young innocent body. The small of her back, the outline of her shapely buttocks in her silky white panties, and the silhouette of her tender young breasts being scarcely covered by her nightgown. She was absolutely perfect. "You are entitled to some privacy."

"Thank you!" She snapped again.

With that Oswell opened the door to her room, but before leaving he stared at her partly nude body again and said, "You have indeed blossomed into a very fine young lady."

Once Spencer was gone, Alex sneered with disgust. His behavior towards her over the last few years has steadily gone from fatherly to creepy. His constant leering at her, his hand slowly slipping down her body in an erotic way, even the way he talked to her, seemed more perverse; Alex was feeling less and less like a daughter and more and more like a sex object. Thankfully, there was only 17 hours left until midnight- 17 hours more to endure of this sickening old man. Once she turned 18 tomorrow, things were going to be vastly different.

Hours had passed since this morning's strange encounter with Spencer, but work was a much needed and quite frankly welcomed distraction from Spencer and his newfound lecherous behavior. Most of the day Alex spent alone peering through various microscopes trying to find new ways to change the RNA of the Progenitor Virus, but nothing seemed to work. Finally, after about six hours of trying and failing with various formula changes and writing down possible theories to test, Alex decided to take a long lunch break. Walking out of her laboratory, Alex walked out to where the other scientists were.

"I'm going to lunch." Alex announced abruptly. "I'll be back by 3:30."

"Yes PhD. Wesker." A few of the other scientist answered in unison.

Alex walked out of the labs and through the building to the back door of the Umbrella research facility. Walking over to one of the picnic tables, she sat down and sighed. She really wasn't in the mood to sit tethered to a microscope all day. She wanted to continue her search for an apartment, but if she left the research campus that would arouse Spencer's suspicion and right now she could ill afford to alert him to her plans on striking out on her own, it was best if she would wait until the time was absolutely perfect before moving out of the Spencer family mansion.

Alex groaned in frustration. She wanted to desperately to do something crazy- something rebellious! But she was afraid to cross Spencer. He controlled her every move and she hated that. He would not take kindly to her defying his will and the consequences would be dire if she did something too radical, but she wanted to prove to him that she wasn't a child anymore, but there was little in her life that he did not control with an absolute iron fist. While Alex sat contemplating her current circumstance, a young man passing by noticed her sitting alone at the picnic table.

"Hello PhD. Wesker." A man's voice called out to her suddenly.

Alex turned and faced the voice, it was Simon Astor, one of the junior researchers in the genetics division. She smiled and responded kindly to him, "Hello Mr. Astor."

"Uh." He stuttered nervously. "Would you like some company?"

Alex wasn't exactly in the most social of moods. It was a long day and she really wanted to get something to eat and sit alone underneath the giant maple tree. She also wasn't in the mood to deal with Mr. Astor. It was obvious he had romantic feelings for her, but she didn't feel the same for him. Yes, she supposed he was attractive enough. He was fairly tall with dark brown hair, lovely green eyes, and soft, yet masculine features. However, she was not interested in him in the same way he was clearly interested in her.

The crush he had on her was utterly apparent and he made minimal effort to hide his feelings. Most men, if they had feelings for Alex suppressed them for fear of what Spencer would do to them if he found out. She was pretty much his daughter and protective didn't cover how he was toward her; it was more akin to possessive. But Simon couldn't control his emotions when it came to Alex. To him, she was the most beautiful and intelligent woman he had ever known. Alex, while flattered by his attention, was not interested in him. Simon Astor was agreeable and kindly enough, he just wasn't what she would consider in a potential mate. She was just about to shoot him down when suddenly an idea struck her like a bolt of lightning, and she grinned wickedly. She finally discovered a possible way to remove the invisible shackles Spencer had her tethered to, and she would use Mr. Astor to accomplish this goal.

"Sure." She said practically batting her big blue eyes at him. "I would love some company."

Simon wasted no time in sitting down next to her.

"How has your day been so far?" He asked happily.

"A little frustrating." She replied softly. "How has your day been?"

"About the same." He replied.

Simon smiled at Alex and she smiled back in kind. This was a pretty awkward moment for both of them. Alex, when she wasn't working, never knew what to do around the opposite sex. Mostly because Spencer kept her mostly to himself and only allowed her to interact with others while she was working. She was never allowed to get too close to any other man other than himself. She had never been allowed to be "liked" by someone of the opposite sex, let alone date or be touched in any remotely romantic way, so her social skills with the opposite sex were minimal.

"I understand that tomorrow is your birthday." Simon said cutting through the awkward silence between them.

"Yes it is." Alex answered politely.

"How old will you be?" He asked nervously.

"Mr. Astor." Alex said coyly. "You never ask a lady her age."

"Oh." He stammered. "You are correct PhD. Wesker, I'm sorry. I was just making small talk."

"Don't apologize." She replied softly. "I was just teasing you. I'll be 18 tomorrow."

"Oh…" Simon answered sounding completely defeated.

"Is there a problem?" Alex questioned.

"I…" He stuttered again. "I thought you would be at least 20."

"Again I ask if there is a problem."

"It's just that…" Simon broke off.

"Tell me." Alex said prodding him.

"I was going to ask you out." He said. "But I don't know if I can now."

"Why not? Alex asked.

"You're so young PhD. Wesker." Simon said. "I would feel weird about asking you out."

"Well just because you ask me," Alex answered. "Doesn't mean I have to accept."

Simon chuckled nervously and said, "How very true."

"But I would be crestfallen if you did not ask me." Alex prodded brazenly.

Simon stared at her, his emotions were conflicted. He was happy that she finally requited his feelings for her. At the same token, he felt guilty about it. He had no idea she was only 17, grant it tomorrow she would be considered an adult in the eyes of the law, but still in all, this felt wrong.

"I…" Simon stuttered again.

Alex, sensing his hesitation, took his hand and gave Simon a very quick peck on the lips. She figured this may spur him on.

"PhD. Wesker…" Simon said sounding shocked, but overjoyed by her actions. "Would you go out to dinner with me?"

"I would be elated to go out with you Mr. Astor." Alex said flashing her bright blue eyes at him. "When did you have in mind?"

"I suppose you have plans tomorrow…"

"I do not have plans actually." Alex interrupted.

Essentially, she lied. Normally on her birthday, she spent the entire day with Mr. Spencer. Grant it, the day was spent indulging her every desire and that desire involved doing the exact same things that Albert did on his birthday. Generally, that meant working, but sometimes it meant lavish shopping excursions from anything from cars, to jewelry, or new equipment for the lab. But she had requested her birthday and the two days following it off months ago just so she could spend the day apartment hunting.

-End-


	3. Chapter 3

Resignation

Albert took in the fresh clean air at his favorite hiding place in Raccoon Forest; taking off his white lab coat, he sat down underneath the large birch trees and inhaled a breath of crisp early spring weather. It felt good to get out of the lab for a little while and collect his thoughts. Being out in nature always helped him clear his otherwise cluttered mind and gave him a moment of lucidity. It was at this very spot he came up with some of the best theories and resolutions to difficult problems regarding the T-virus. Also, this was the very spot eight years ago, that he decided to discover what Spencer's real motives were.

Over those eight years, it became evident that something inexplicable was going on with the Arklay Mansion facility. The staff at the facility was being scaled back at an alarming rate. When he had first arrived thirteen years ago, there were at least sixty researchers and about forty guards, now it was down to just twenty researchers and fifteen guards. The idea was to scale down to just essential staff, because the Arklay facility was deemed safe and self-sufficient enough to sustain the limited staff who resided there.

Additionally, the budget for security was severely cut, as was the budget for facility maintenance. Again, there was a belief that because the mansion had so many "fail-safes", that security and maintenance could be dwindled down without incident. However, those same "fail-safes" needed to be routinely inspected. But the likelihood of that happening was practically nonexistent with the maintenance budget slashed to its barest bones. Quarterly maintenance inspections would have to be pushed back to yearly inspections, which hardly seemed safe considering the savagery of many of the in-house failsafe devices. These were little warning signs that didn't sit well with Albert at all. Spencer was up to something very sinister and he was determined to know what it was.

Albert tried to take consolation in the fact that Arklay Research Facility was in the very heart of Raccoon Forest, secluded from prying eyes or bothersome neighbors, but it was far from being safe. If ever there was a viral outbreak of the T-virus, anyone living here would be condemned to death, but not only that, what would happen if those creatures clawed their way out of their confined cages or mutations occurred in the surrounding plant life or wildlife? Even worse, what if that deranged Trevor woman ever got out, that would be a massive catastrophe for Umbrella, considering that she was the primary guinea pig for their illegal experimentation. Umbrella had everything to lose if their research here came to light, so why would Spencer put his precious organization at risk like this?

Perhaps once he resigned as head researcher, he would discover the answers to his long lingering questions. Later this afternoon, Albert would hand in his resignation to Oswell Spencer and admittedly he was slightly uneasy about it. Even though he decided eight years ago this would be the best course of action, he still questioned if Spencer would suspect his reasons for it. Spencer wasn't a fool; if he suspected for a second what his true motives for leaving the Arklay research team where he would undoubtedly end up like Dr. Marcus; murdered in a most heinous fashion with his lifeless body rotting with a pile of other nameless putrid corpses at the bottom of the Umbrella Disposal Facility. That outcome was simply unacceptable; however, Albert was determined to understand what Spencer's motivations truly were.

Taking another deep breath in, Albert took his dark sunglasses off and gazed at the raw beauty of Raccoon Forest. He was a bit surprised that he felt slightly disconsolate about leaving the Arklay Mansion facility. After all, a lot of triumphs and discoveries were made here. It was out here that the research on the T-Virus blossomed so quickly. In the years that Dr. Marcus was involved, the project all but stagnated due to his blind insistence on only using leaches for experimentation. After he was eliminated, Albert and Birkin made massive strides in T-Virus development and their hard work and fortitude was much-admired by everyone.

Furthermore, Arklay Mansion is where he had grown up; he came here at the tender age of seventeen, shortly after the Umbrella Executive Training Facility closed down. This had been the most stable and consistent home he'd ever known. Growing up, Albert's parents moved around constantly; additionally, he spent most of his formative years in various boarding schools around the country and right after his graduation from secondary school he went straight to college in Maryland and remained there until he finished his first of three doctoral dissertations. So, there was no place he had ever felt connected to other than the Arklay Mansion. Besides, after working and living here for thirteen years, seeing the same faces every day and having discussions about the project daily, it would be strange to move into a house and be alone. However, he was confident he would adapt to his new life quickly.

Taking another deep breath in, Albert delighted in this moment at his favorite hiding spot. This place was so perfect; far enough away from the mansion that he could have a moment of solitude, yet close enough that if things went awry, he could return quickly to deal with the situation. Gently exhaling, Wesker thought how the view here was undeniably perfect. Where the mansion sat was surrounded by extremely dense portion of woodlands, but when the mansion was built, the architect left about two acres of clearing around the house, and when the sun bounded off the white stone and glistening windows of the mansion it seemed to gleam brightly against the dank foreboding woods. It was indescribably beautiful, especially at sunset or a brightly moonlit night.

Looking around one last time, Albert got up from off the ground and dusted his pants off. Taking a quick look at his watch he noted the time and made his way back down the path that led to the mansion. The helicopter that would take him to Umbrella Headquarters in the city would be leaving in about an hour and he needed to be on it for his meeting with Spencer.

The helicopter landed on the roof of Umbrella Headquarters in downtown Raccoon City. The wind from the helicopter blades blustered Albert's tie around wildly, so he tried to hold it flat as he ran for the elevator doors. Stepping in, he tidied up his appearance and removed his dark sunglasses before pressing the button combination that would take him to Sir Spencer's office suite. He was doing his best to keep his apprehensions in check, but it was an uphill battle. Spencer would no doubt probe him relentlessly about his resignation, but he had to remain cool through it all. Any sign of hesitation and this game would be over; Albert had to remain imperturbable if the next part of his plan would work.

It didn't take long for the elevator to stop at Oswald Spencer's office suite on the 25th floor of Umbrella Headquarters. Albert stepped off the elevator and walked over to the receptionist's desk, with a smile he greeted the older woman warmly.

"Good afternoon." Albert said kindly. "I am here to see Mr. Spencer. I believe we have a three o'clock meeting."

"Yes PhD. Wesker." The woman said kindly. "Mr. Spencer has been expecting you. Please take a seat and I will let him know you're here."

"Thank you." He said.

Albert sat down on one of the soft waiting room chairs as the receptionist contacted Mr. Spencer over the phone. Albert folded his arms across his chest and waited until it was time to enter the office. He had gone over in his mind various scenarios on how this could potentially play out, which included everything from Spencer graciously accepting his resignation to having Albert dragged off to his death. Quite frankly, the latter scenario was the one he expected, but he did not want to unintentionally trigger his fight or flight response, so he opted to take a stance which had served him well over the years and that was having no expectations at all.

"PhD. Wesker," The receptionist said graciously. "Mr. Spencer will see you now."

Albert got up from his seat and walked behind the receptionist who was already a few paces ahead of him and opened up the door to Oswell Spencer's private office.

"Thank you Cecilia." Mr. Spencer said softly. "Please close the door behind PhD. Wesker."

"Yes Sir." She said.

"And one more thing Cecilia," Mr. Spencer called out. "See that we aren't disturbed during this meeting."

"Of course Mr. Spencer." Cecilia said closing the door behind Albert.

"Welcome Albert." Mr. Spencer said sitting down in the large leather chair behind his desk. "Would you like some coffee or tea?"

"No thank you Mr. Spencer." Albert declined. "I am fine."

"Very well." Mr. Spencer conceded. "So, what brings you to see me today Albert?"

"I wish to resign from my post as Chief Researcher at the Arklay Research Facility." Albert said sternly as he pulled out a white envelope from his blazer pocket and sliding it across the desk to Mr. Spencer.

"I see." Mr. Spencer said picking up the envelope and opening it. "When did you wish to resign?"

"Effective immediately." Albert said sternly.

"I see…" Mr. Spencer trailed off as he read Albert's lengthy letter of resignation.

In the letter it expressed his gratitude for all Mr. Spencer's for hiring him right just as he was finishing his doctoral thesis and for all the years of service at the Arklay Mountain facility, but nothing stating a reason for his sudden announcement.

"Why do you wish to resign your position?" Mr. Spencer questioned.

"I wish to move to Umbrella's Intelligence Division." Albert said firmly.

"From Research and Development to Security and Intelligence," Mr. Spencer said putting the letter down onto a drawer of his mahogany desk. "That is quite a career change."

"It is a change I am ready for." Albert answered.

"Why do you want to stop doing research?" He asked.

"The project at Arklay is running smoothly and can function without me." Albert began. "Besides, there is little more that can be discovered with the Arklay Project. I am aware of all the possibilities and limitations regarding the project, so it's time for me to change professions before I become jaded about that fact."

"But surely I thought you would move over to Birkin's new project." Sir Spencer said.

"Birkin's project was approved?" Albert questioned not sounding overly astonished.

"Yes." He answered. "I approved it about two months ago. I've had a new laboratory constructed just for this project. I just gave the official order to finalize construction on the new laboratory facility this morning. Would you be interested in proceeding on that project?"

"I thank you for the offer Mr. Spencer." Albert said graciously. "However, I would much rather completely change the direction of my career path. Besides, I made an astonishing effort to join the Security and Intelligence team."

"Yes." Mr. Spencer said pulling out some papers from his desk drawer and quickly looking them over. "Apparently you went to Raccoon University and obtained a Master's degree in Criminal Justice."

Albert didn't respond; he wasn't stunned that the head of Security and Intelligence had told Mr. Spencer of his desire to change positions. It was common practice for Umbrella department heads to report to Mr. Spencer and it didn't matter if it was about bioweapon production, sales figures, or potential employees that excelled on tests and interviews.

"When it comes to academia, I see you are still smart as a whip." Spencer complimented. "You graduated in a year and a half with a 4.0 grade point average. And all while working at Arklay and continuing to expand the Arklay Project."

"Yes I did Sir." Albert said.

"Your tenacity is something to be commended Albert." Mr. Spencer continued. "When I received your application from the head of S and I last week I was very surprised you wanted to take this route. I would have never thought you would be interested in security or intelligence."

"It is a field that has always held my interest." Albert said. "As a scientist, I have to investigate and find solutions to difficult problems, it is fundamentally the same thing I would be doing as a member of the Security and Intelligence division; it's just that I'm not using those talents for the Arklay Project. Additionally, I never had an opportunity to pursue and explore this interest until now."

"According to the Security and Intelligence Director you were very self-assured, yet not cocky." Mr. Spencer said. "That your initial scores on Security and Intelligence Division Entrance Exam were one of, if not the highest scores he had ever seen. He thought you would make a wonderful addition to the S and I Division."

"I am happy to have made such a good impression on him." Albert responded.

"You did." Mr. Spencer said putting the lengthy application down on the desk. "You seemed to have passed all the preliminary requirements to join the Security and Intelligence team. So I will be approving your application to join Umbrella's Security and Intelligence Division."

"Thank you, Mr. Spencer."

"However, I cannot accept your resignation as Chief Researcher on Arklay Project at this time." Mr. Spencer interjected.

"Why Mr. Spencer?" Albert questioned.

"I will need time to find a suitable replacement for you at Arklay." Mr. Spencer said. "And even once that replacement has been found, I would like to keep you on as Chief Consultant Researcher. After all, no one knows more about the project than you and Mr. Birkin."

"I already have a successor lined up for my position." Albert said.

"Do you?" Mr. Spencer questioned.

"Yes." Albert said firmly. "He was transferred to the Arklay facility about three months ago, his name is Rodger McCoy; Mr. McCoy has keen insights and would be a great asset to the project."

"Yes." Mr. Spencer agreed. "He is a very talented individual. Not as talented as you or Mr. Birkin, but I think your assessment of him is correct, he would be a great boon to the project. When will you inform Mr. McCoy of your decision?"

"After I have received your approval to switch roles." Albert replied.

"If I gave you approval immediately," Mr. Spencer began to question. "Where will you live, your residence is at the mansion."

"I will be moving into a house in Arklay County sometime this week." Albert answered.

"You brought a house?" Mr. Spencer questioned.

"Yes," Albert replied. "Last year I brought a four-acre lot in the subdivision Bella Vista Pointe. The house I had built is about 5500 square ft."

"That's a lot of room Mr. Wesker." Sir Spencer said suspiciously. "Are you planning on starting a family?"

"Not likely Sir." Albert answered quickly. "I have no interest in starting or having a family. Besides, I've always lived in large houses, with the exception of when I was in boarding school and college. I cannot see myself living in a small apartment or house. Besides, the acreage is because I want complete privacy. My closest neighbors are about a mile and a half down the road in either direction and my house is the last house at end of the cul-du-sac."

-End-


	4. Chapter 4

S.T.A.R.S. Anthology File No. #006 Christmas Survival Tactics

It was late in the evening, far later than Captain Marini or Captain Wesker had originally anticipated, but it was necessary to for them to have this private meeting. Captain Wesker had finished balancing the quarterly budget for S.T.A.R.S. and there was a lot to cover. The good news was, due to Captain Wesker's vigilance and careful spending, there was forty-five thousand dollars left from their three-hundred seventy-five-thousand-dollar quarterly budget. While it was good that their budget was perfectly intact, any additional money left at the end of the year needed to be reconciled before January 1st.

"So, after all the new equipment acquisitions, trainings, and professional development in-services for this quarter," Captain Wesker said sternly sliding over the lengthy budget report to Enrico. "We have forty-five thousand dollars left in our quarterly budget. Do you have any ideas on what to do with it?"

"You said we can't keep it for next year, right?" Enrico asked thumbing through the pages.

"That is correct." Wesker replied. "It all has to be spent by 5:00 PM on the thirty-first."

Enrico shook his head then said, "I can't think of anything to do with it. I mean we have the best of everything weapons and equipment wise and I don't think there's another in-service to give before the end of the year. I don't see why we can't just keep it for next year."

"I understand your lamentations." Wesker said. "But if the money is not reconciled, there may be a massive internal audit of our budget and that could delay any investigations we start going into the New Year."

Enrico grumbled.

"We could do one of two things." Wesker said. "We could donate the money to some police charitable organization or give it to the team as an end of the year bonus."

"Well…" Enrico hesitated but then spoke. "Not to sound selfish, but I would much rather the team have it."

"Really?" Captain Wesker said sounding genuinely surprised that Enrico would think a little self-interestedly.

"Not to be mean or anything," He began. "But we have given so much of our time and money to various charities this year; the bachelor auction for the Widowed Police Officers Association, our Be A STAR Program and other youth crime prevention events, plus we just wrapped up our Christmas toy drive. What's wrong with wanting to keep some of that money for ourselves?"

"You make a valid point." Captain Wesker agreed.

"You said there was $45,000 dollars left right?" Enrico asked.

"That is correct." Wesker replied.

"So that's what per-person?" Enrico began to do the math in his head.

"A little over $4000 dollars." Wesker said quickly working the numbers out in his head. "I won't be partaking in the bonus."

"Why wouldn't you partake? You've worked just as hard as we have." Enrico asked. "You've probably worked harder since you had to keep our budget balanced, gave nearly all of the professional development trainings, organized our charitable events, kept our office the most structured office I've ever worked in, and hammered out the schedules and vacations time for everyone this year. You among any of us deserve a bonus."

Wesker shrugged, what Enrico was saying was true, but Wesker figured that those things were part of his responsibilities as the division leader of .R.S. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the tasks Enrico mentioned. Besides, he was already getting a far larger bonus from Spencer for all his work this year and that amount was ten times greater than their surplus, so what meager bonus he squeezed out of the surplus wouldn't really make a difference to him one way or another.

"Oh speaking of the schedules," Enrico said changing subjects. "Have you come up with the schedule for Christmas and who will be working?"

"Yes." Wesker said relaxing his austere tone just a bit. "I was too busy handling the budget to post it today, but I'll post up the schedule when I come in tomorrow."

"Skeleton crew right?" Enrico asked.

"Yes." Wesker answered. "Three from the Bravo team and three from the Alpha team, everyone else will be on call and our office is closed from the 26th until the 30th, but we will be on stand-by if there is a situation."

"Who's on?" Enrico asked.

"Myself, Chris, Joseph, Forest, Richard, and Dewey." Captain Wesker said.

"That's a good group." Enrico said. "Are you sure you want to work the holiday Wesker? I could come in and relieve you after I'm done seeing my kids."

"Thank you for the offer." Wesker said kindly. "But I will be ok. Besides, the shift is scaled down too, we won't be doing a 24 hour schedule that day. Just a modified 15 hour shift."

"What's the schedule?" Enrico asked.

"9 AM to 2 AM." Wesker answered.

"Are you sure Wesker?" Enrico asked again, concerned that Wesker may be overworking himself. "It's no big deal."

"I'll be fine Enrico." Wesker answered. "Thank you for the offer."

"Well, if you're sure?" Enrico said begrudgingly conceding.

"Quite." Wesker closed the subject matter and changing it back to the budget. "So you are fine with the $45,000 being split among the two teams?"

"Yeah, I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised with getting an end of the year bonus." Enrico said happily. "Are you sure this isn't going to cause an issue for reporting?"

"Because our budget comes from private funds and not from state, local, or federal funds," Captain Wesker began. "We pretty much have free reign on how we use our allotment. As a matter of fact, our budget doesn't go through Chief Irons for approval, it is submitted to an independent financial firm for auditing and approval. Thus far I haven't had a budget submission rejected and as long as we don't exceed our expenses without just cause, there will be no problems."

"It's probably for the best that we don't have to go through the chief." Enrico practically whispered. "The cost of some of the equipment would send him through the roof."

"Not to mention our last in-service." Captain Wesker added. "That last in-service cost $65,000 dollars, I don't see any scenario where he would have ever signed off on something like that."

"It was good of the Coast Guard to let us use their facilities and equipment." Enrico said. "That water rescue training was invaluable."

-End-


	5. Chapter 5

S.T.A.R.S. Anthology File No. #009

Philanthropic Responsibilities

Chris Redfield was leaning back at desk with his feet propped up on top of the desk; he wanted a cigarette so badly he could taste the dark smoky flavor of the nicotine throughout his mouth, almost causing him to drool. However, when he picked up the rented the tuxedo he was wearing, the rental company asked that while he was wearing the nicely tailored garment that he did not smoke, socialize with other smokers, or smoke around the tuxedo. It was some foolish nonsense about how the smoke damages the delicate wool fibers and the smell of tobacco was hard to remove once it saturated the fibers, whatever. It seemed like bunk to him, because he always smoked and his clothes always managed to hold up well, even after a million washes. But then again it was an extremely nice tuxedo rental place, so maybe there was something to their claims.

As he was sitting there wishing that he could peel off this penguin suit and shove a whole pack of Marlies cigarettes into his mouth, in walked Kenneth, Joseph, Richard, Brad, and Forest all wearing tuxedos and looking as dapper as ever for tonight's special charitable event, which was the Raccoon City Mayoral Ball followed by the special S.T.A.R.S Studs Event. The S.T.A.R.S Studs Event was a wildly popular bachelor's auction featuring the single men of the Special Tactics And Rescue Service. Last year it made over ten thousand dollars for the organization benefitting Raccoon City's widowed police officers, this year Captain Wesker had his sights on getting at least twenty thousand for the organization.

"What's up Redfield?" Forest asked walking over to Chris high fiving him.

"Nothin' much Forest." Chris answered. "I see you are wearing a tux this year…"

"Yeah." Forest said shoving Chris's feet off the desk and plopping his backside down on it. "After Captain Wesker chewed my ass off out about it last year I figured I'd better wear one this year. But check it out?"

Forest took off his Tuxedo jacket to reveal that the shirt, cummerbund, and bow tie he was wearing was only a dickey which covered a portion of his chest and torso, but the rest was open.

"Seriously?" Kenneth question looking at Forest strangely.

"Yeah man!" Forest said touching his burly left arm. "When you have guns like these, it hurts too badly to holster them."

Kenneth, Richard and Brad all groaned in unison at his comment.

"If Captain Wesker sees this he's going to have a fit." Joseph said pulling out a mirror from his desk drawer to check his dark brown hair. "You know how serious he is when it comes to the Benefit for Widowed Police Officers organization."

"If I know Captain Wesker he probably knows already." Brad said sitting at his communication station.

"No, he'll never suspect." Forest said putting his jacket back on. "See, it looks like I have on a nice tux and a nice dress shirt."

"I think it's a brilliant scheme." Chris said supporting his friend. "I wish I thought of it."

"Thank you Redfield." Forest said graciously.

"I know that hoity-toity place Wesker had us go to rent these didn't give you that dickey, so where did you find it?" Chris asked.

"I didn't even go to that snooty place." Forest bragged.

"You didn't?" Chris asked.

"Hell no!" Forest exclaimed boisterously. "Did you see the rental agreement? Please they wanted your first born just to rent a stupid ass tux, fuck that dude! I went to the tux place off of Bettery and Filbert Street up from St. Michael's. They don't give a damn if you spill something on their tux, plus I got this awesome dickey to show off my guns."

"Captain Wesker said he would reimburse us for the tuxedo rental." Kenneth interjected.

"Yeah, and I just saved him a couple hundred bucks." Forest said. "That place Wesker wanted us to go was just ridiculous, with their rules and costs."

The others in the room just silently shook their heads.

"You know he's going to kill you." Brad said half listening to the police ban radio and half listening to the current conversation in the room.

"And if you keep your mouth shut he will never know." Forest insisted. "But changing the subject, do we all have our date nights for this year?"

"Yes." Joseph said shutting his locker and sitting on the edge of the desk Chris's desk next to Forest.

"Yuppers." Richard said cheerfully.

"I have mine." Brad said.

"Yes I have mine." Kenneth said softly.

"What about you Redfield?" Forest asked.

"Yeah." He said skeptically. "Wesker had to give me an idea for it though."

Forest laughed.

"Why is that so funny?" Chris questioned.

"Come on now man." Forest said. "You can't think of a nice romantic date to take a woman out on?"

"Well…" Chris practically whined. "He didn't like my idea, so he had to come up with something."

"What was your idea?" Forest questioned.

"To go bowling and get a pizza." Chris said softly.

"Ouch…" Joseph said.

The others in the room just kind of sat there chuckling to themselves about Chris's date idea.

"That wouldn't be bad if you were taking out a girl from Raccoon City High." Forest teased. "But these are sophisticated women we're talking about, you have to bring you're A game dude!"

"I thought that would be a really nice date." Chris defended. "Even sophisticated women like to let loose every once in a while."

"Really, say Kenneth." Forest said. "What is your date night going to be?"

"Well." Kenneth started. "I am taking the woman who wins me to the Ivy Street Bistro for cocktails, and then we will take a romantic limousine ride through downtown, from there we will have a lovely dinner at Raccoon City Botanical Society Gardens, with a private jazz concert while we eat dinner."

"Very suave." Forest said. "What about you Joseph?"

"I will be taking my lucky lady to a private screening of any movie of her choosing." Joseph bragged. "Followed by dinner and dancing at the Cloud Scape."

"Kick ass." Forest said. "And what about you Chickenheart, what's your date going to be?"

Brad balked at being called Chickenheart but answered, "I'm going to take my lady to dinner at Pei Mei's Asian fusion restaurant on Flower Street, then I'm going give a helicopter tour over Raccoon City. Afterward I am taking her to the Raccoon City Players production of The Things We Do For Love."

"You came up with that yourself?" Chris questioned.

"Yeah." Brad said proudly. "Wesker had no trouble signing off on it."

"Damn…" Chris said. "Well what about you Richard?"

"My date is pretty simple." He said. "We are going to be spending the day at Raccoon City Zoo and having several exclusive tours and then dinner at that really nice restaurant at the zoo called Albino Tiger."

"See Redfield," Forest began to tease. "Everyone brought their A game but you."

"Well what's your date going to be?" Chris asked.

"Mine is going to be a romantic day on the slopes at Arklay Mountain Ski Lodge." Forest said. "After that we will be having dinner at that new place up there, Rayne's Brasserie. What did Wesker make you do?"

"He didn't make me do anything." Chris answered. "But whoever wins me will be having a private skating lesson at that ice skating rink near Wallace Street. From there we're going to go to the observatory at City College and look at some stars. Afterwards, I'm taking her to dinner at The Summit Inn restaurant."

"Wesker did a good job planning your date." Forest teased. "Maybe if you asked him to plan all your dates you'd actually go on more of them."

"Shut up Forest." Chris said.

Just then Captain Wesker and Jill walked into the office. Jill looked beautiful in her form fitting red dress. All the guys whistled and cat called when she walked in the room.

"So what do you think of Jill guys?" Captain Wesker questioned.

"Nice!" Kenneth said.

"Yeah Jill you look great." Joseph said.

"Thank you, Joseph." Jill said kindly.

"You look really beautiful Jill." Brad said sweetly.

"Smokin' hot!" Chris interjected.

"Yeah." Forest said getting up from the desk and walking over to get a closer look. "Totally doable."

"Eww." Jill said sounding annoyed. "Seriously Forest?"

"More like uncalled for Forest." Captain Wesker chided. "Remember Jill is still your team member and you can be subjected to suspension for little quips like that."

"I'm sorry Captain Wesker." Forest said sheepishly. "And I'm really sorry about that comment Jill."

"Apology accepted." Jill said softly.

"And I see you didn't go to my tuxedo shop." Wesker said looking Forest up and down.

"Here we go…" Brad mumbled under his breath.

"Uhh." Forest stumbled over his words. "Sure, I did."

"No, you did not." Wesker was quick to correct as he looked him over. "This tuxedo is egregious and I know The Tailor Atelier would never stock something this retched."

"Well…" Forest stuttered. "I just didn't have time to go to the place you suggested and…"

"You've known about this event for half a year." Wesker said sternly. "You had plenty of time to get a nice tuxedo."

Forest stood there quietly as Wesker continued to examine his tuxedo.

"Hopefully this shirt fits well." Wesker said. "Take off your jacket and let me have a look."

Chris couldn't help himself but chuckle, while everyone else except for Jill and Wesker bit their tongues trying not to laugh.

"Oh it fits perfectly Captain Wesker." Forest said trying to defuse the situation.

"Jacket off please." Wesker requested sternly.

Forest sighed and reluctantly removed his jacket. Everyone in the room except for Wesker tried in stifle their laughter at Forest's bare arms and back. Wesker was shocked into silence and actually took his trademark sunglasses off to get a better view of the disaster before him. It was unlike Captain Wesker to make disapproving faces or show any emotion, but this time he couldn't help himself. Wesker slightly furrowed his brow, his thin lips narrowed, and his blue and green eyes glinted with disdain. Forest looked like a caricature of a male strip tease dancer, it was appalling and definitely not the image he wanted the men of S.T.A.R.S. portraying.

"What is this supposed to be?" Wesker asked sounding displeased as ever.

Forest couldn't bring himself to answer and his face burned dark crimson.

"Well?" Wesker prodded.

"You know how uncomfortable I am with sleeves." Forest answered hesitantly. "So I figured the dickey would be a good solution for me."

"Ugh." Wesker groaned. "I didn't think last year's black jeans and tuxedo tee-shirt could get any worse, but somehow it has. Don't take your jacket off tonight Forest."

"Yes Captain Wesker." Forest said putting the jacket back on.

"And don't expect me to reimburse you for your outfit." Wesker said putting back on his sunglasses and his face returning to its normal stoic look.

"So I'm out sixty bucks?" Forest questioned.

Captain Wesker couldn't bring himself to answer with words, so he just nodded his head.

"Damn…" Forest sighed.

"I can't believe you paid sixty dollars for that?" Chris said.

"It was $35 for the tux rental." Forest whispered. "$20 for the dickey, and $5 for the bow tie..."

"Which is a ridiculous clip-on bow tie." Wesker finished Forest's sentence with a trace of annoyance in his voice. "Well at least the rest of you look good."

"Thanks Captain Wesker." Everyone thanked practically in unison.

"Say Captain Wesker." Chris said walking over to him. "We were just talking about our dates."

"Yes." Wesker said. "What about them?"

"Well…" Chris started gently. "What is your date going to be?"

"I will be taking my date in a private car up to Arklay Mountains premier five star resort The Enclave." Wesker said. "She and I will enjoy a five-course dinner at Chef Rainier's private table, after dinner we will enjoy cocktails and dancing at The Red Chamber. Afterwards, my date will have a good night's rest in the Enclave's Presidential Suite and in the morning, we will have breakfast together in the suite and from there she will have a spa day complete with massage and join me for another five-course dinner at Chef Rainier's private table before leaving with me to see Raccoon City Opera Company's production of Mozart's Don Giovanni; boxed seats of course."

"Wow…" Joseph said sounding astonished.

"Holy crap." Brad said with the same amazed tone of voice.

"That's a pretty long date Captain Wesker." Richard said.

"Yeah." Chris said his brown eyes wide with amazement.

"I know we have only known each other a year Captain Wesker." Forest said. "But I will totally go out with you."

"Remember I am your superior," Wesker admonished again. "Need I remind you for a second time you can be subjected to suspension for sexual harassment?"

"Sorry Captain Wesker." Forest said.

"Besides," Chris began to tease. "Captain Wesker is a "_sophisticated_" man, and you have to bring your "_A game"_ and your dickey doesn't scream "A game" or "sophistication"."

Everyone in the room laughed out loud at Chris's comment, even Wesker eked out a small chuckle at Forest's expense.

"Shut up Redfield." Forest snarled.

"Isn't anyone going to ask me about my date?" Jill said.

"You're auctioning yourself this year Jill?" Chris said sounding surprised.

"Yes." Captain Wesker answered for her. "We had dozens of men who asked why we didn't auction Jill, so this year she graciously volunteered."

"Cool." Chris said. "So what is your date going to be Jill?"

"A sleigh ride around Arklay Mountain." She said. "Then horseback riding through Arklay Forest. Afterwards a nice dinner at Arklay Mountain Restaurant. I'm looking forward to it."

-End-


	6. Chapter 6

S.T.A.R.S Anthology File No. #010

Inner Departmental Relations

Jill was enjoying her lunch hour, spending the majority of her time with a couple of the patrol officers. Their stories were always so interesting and entertaining, especially the stories told by Officer Marvin Branagh. His stories were usually hilarious and today's tale of prostitutes was no exception. Jill found herself laughing hysterically at his story about how a John tried to say the prostitute he was with was his sister and they were just trying to find a quiet place for her to talk about the decline of library standards in Raccoon City. It was a wild tale indeed and Jill was nearly in tears laughing at it. Sadly, the hour was nearly over and soon Jill would have to go back to the office to meet up with the rest of the Alpha Team before training resumed. Some of the other officer's lunch hours were coming to a close too, and slowly everyone prepared to go back to their routine.

"It was really good to see you again Marvin." Jill said getting up preparing to go.

"Say Jill!" Marvin said interrupting her.

"Yes Marvin?" She asked.

"Would it be too forward of me to ask you out to dinner sometime?" He said rather sheepishly.

Jill smiled and answered, "Not at all."

"Great!" He said happily. Truthfully, he expected she would shoot him down. "Uh, I'm not sure when you have off…"

"I'm off on Friday and Saturday." She said kindly.

"That works perfectly." He said. "I'm actually off this Friday myself."

"Here, let me write down my number." She said sweetly as she took out a pen and wrote her number down for him on a napkin and handing it to him.

"Thanks." Marvin said taking the number with a smile.

"I get off at 7, I usually get home by 7:30 or so." She said. "Call me!"

Jill walked out of the lunch room and met up in the with Chris who had seen the interaction between Jill and Marvin as he was finishing up at the vending machine.

"Hi Chris." Jill said with a smile.

"Uh hey Jill." Chris said apprehensively. "So, you're going to go out with Sergeant Branagh?"

"Uh yeah." Jill hesitated to answer. "Is that a problem?"

"Not for me." Chris said. "But just don't let Wesker find out."

"Wesker?" Jill questioned. "Why would Wesker have a problem with me dating?"

"He won't have a problem with you dating." Chris said. "Just dating a fellow officer."

"I don't think there's anything in our Code of Conduct that says I can't date another officer." Jill said.

"There isn't." Chris said casually. "At least not since the last time I glanced at it, but…"

"But what?" She asked.

Chris stopped Jill as they were walking and turn to her and said, "Look, I dated someone on the force's sister and there was a big to-do that followed. Personnel got involved, Internal Affairs got involved, the Police Union too. I got severely reprimanded by Wesker and was sent home for two weeks without pay, and the other officer was suspended for three weeks."

"Who was the other officer?" Jill asked. "And when did this happen?"

"It happened while you were on vacation in Canada over the summer." He said. "And I can't tell you who the officer was, but the aftermath was ugly."

Jill vaguely recalled that when she came back from her three-week vacation, the atmosphere in the office was really tense. Captain Wesker was in a mood and a half for the better part of that week and everyone walked on eggshells around him, especially Chris. She remembered asking around to see what happened, but everyone was pretty much hush-hush about it, so she let it drop.

"After that incident pretty much Wesker handed down the rule that no one from S.T.A.R.S. can date anyone on the force or related to anyone on the force."

Jill looked at Chris strangely, something about this story seemed off, but Chris wasn't the type to lie to her, especially about something that had happened to him so she took his story at face value. But this was still worrisome, because she really liked Marvin and was looking forward to going out with him, however she didn't want to break any rules, especially rules of conduct. She loved her position in S.T.A.R.S. and didn't want to risk jeopardizing it.

"Hey!" Chris said with a grin after seeing how conflicted Jill looked. "I won't say anything about it."

"But Chris…" Jill said.

"Hey, we're teammates right." He said. "We have to have each other's backs. Besides, I think you two would make a great couple."

"Well…" Jill sighed and hesitated. "I don't know about this…"

"Oh, go for it Jill!" Chris said cheerfully. "Not to be nosey, but when was the last time you went on a date?"

Jill thought for a moment. It had been a very long time since she went on a date, probably about a few months before accepting the position on S.T.A.R.S. and moving to Raccoon City. Wow, that was nearly a year ago. Also, when she thought about it, she really did enjoy Marvin's company. He was so charming and funny. He would be great company and she was really looking forward to going out with him.

"It has been awhile…" She answered softly.

"Then go for it!" Chris cheered.

"Are you sure you'll be able to keep this a secret Chris?" Jill questioned. "I mean you and Wesker are kinda best buds?"

"You bet I can!" He said patting her shoulders. "This will just be between you and me."

With that both Chris and Jill went upstairs to resume their day's training.

The day was over and Jill finally made it back to her apartment. Just as she had gotten out of the shower and plunked down on her couch with a glass of white wine, the phone rang. Dashing over to answer it, Jill picked up the line.

"Hello." She said kindly.

"Hey Jill it's Marvin." The voice on the other end said. "I hope this isn't a bad time?"

"No, it's a great time." She said beaming from ear to ear.

The pair talked for hours and when their conversation had ended Jill had secured a date for Friday night with Marvin. She was very excited for her date, but what Chris had said to her had loomed over her like certain doom. She really didn't feel comfortable sneaking around Captain Wesker's back, but it couldn't be helped. Hopefully Chris would be ok keeping her secret and who knows, maybe nothing would come of this date. Maybe they would discover they were better friends then people that should be a romantic relationship. Taking a deep breath in Jill tried to relax and not worry. It was just a one date… She was certain nothing would come of it.

About three months had passed since Jill and Marvin began dating. Their relationship was going well and she was pleased with seeing Marvin. But there was always this underlying uncomfortable feeling she had and that was because she always felt like she was lying to Captain Wesker. Actually, she wasn't so much lying as she was keeping this secret from him and it was slowly driving her crazy. Additionally, it made seeing Marvin at work very uncomfortable. While she and Marvin mutually agreed that while they were at work they would keep things on a professional level, it would have been nice to be a little affectionate with each other while they were at work. Nothing too overt, maybe just holding hands at lunch would have been nice.

While this agreement between them worked out well, it still didn't do anything to allay her concerns with hiding their relationship from Captain Wesker. Anytime she was around Captain Wesker, she felt like he knew something odd was going on with her. The other day he asked her a simple question and she nearly blurted out everything about her three-month relationship. That moment was so jarring that she dragged Chris out of their training session and had him talk her down, however when they returned, she still felt like Captain Wesker was staring her down and internally interrogating her. Try as she may to fight off this feeling, she couldn't get rid of it.

Sitting down at her desk, Jill stared blankly off into space, her mind raced wildly. Today was her review with Captain Wesker and it was going to be nearly impossible for her to stay focused. Chris tried to reassure her that everything would be fine, she was having doubts. She loved her job and felt guilty about jeopardizing it in this way. Grant it, she was happy in her relationship too… Why did she have to choose?

While Jill was lost in thought, Captain Wesker walked into the office, "Are you ready to begin your review Jill?" He asked stopping at her desk.

Jill didn't answer, she was so lost in her own world she didn't even notice he had walked in.

"Jill?" Wesker called to her again. "Jill are you ok?"

After a second Jill looked up at Wesker who was staring at her full of concern.

"Oh." She answered softly. "I'm sorry Captain Wesker."

"You've been behaving out of the ordinary Jill." He said pulling out Chris's desk chair and sitting down in front her. "What has been going on?"

"Captain Wesker…" Jill hesitated. "I…"

"Whatever is plaguing your conscious Jill please know that I won't hold it against you." Wesker said in a reassuring tone.

"Captain Wesker," She said looking into his dual colored eyes. "I've been dating someone on the force. I know it's against our Code of Conduct, but I really like him and we've been seeing each other for a few months now."

Captain Wesker was taken aback by what Jill said, but that was because he was expecting her to turn in her resignation, not confess she was in a romantic relationship with another officer.

"Is that what has been plaguing you?" He asked as a matter of clarification. "The fact that you are dating a member of the police force?"

"Yes." Jill said sounding embarrassed. "I understand if you need to report me to Internal Affairs…"

"There is nothing in our Code of Conduct explicitly stating that S.T.A.R.S. members are prohibited from dating members of RDP or other S.T.A.R.S. members for that matter." Wesker said in a matter of fact tone of voice.

"There isn't?" Jill asked sounding perplexed by Wesker's statement.

"No." He replied emphatically. "Captain Marini and I wrote our Code of Conduct and it says we are to be respectful, professional, and share pertinent case information with our fellow officers. Moreover, there are very specific rules regarding sexual harassment and reporting sexual harassment. Otherwise, there's nothing directly stating S.T.A.R.S. members cannot have romantic relationships with other officers."

"I see." Jill said softly.

"Jill." Wesker said relaxing his normally austere baritone voice. "We work in close proximity to male and female officers every day; emotions of an armous nature are bound to occur; it would be unfair to punish someone for having those natural feelings."

"But Chris said you handed down a rule that S.T.A.R.S. members couldn't date anyone on the force or their family members." Jill said.

"Oh that." Wesker said nonchalantly. "That particular rule is what I call A Rule of Redfield, it only applies to him."

"But." Jill said. "He said you were pretty insistent about it."

"That's because Chris caused a scandal by getting involved with Forest's sister who had just turned 18 and very recently graduated from high school." Captain Wesker replied with a hint of vitriol to his voice.

"What?!" Jill said sounding shocked.

"Yes." Wesker said. "To say it was a fiasco would be an understatement."

"May I ask what happened?" Jill questioned cautiously.

"That's right, you were on vacation when this all occurred." Wesker said. "While you were away Chris and Abigail Speyer met and began covertly seeing each other. When Forest found out about them he became extremely upset, which his feelings were justifiable. An argument occurred then a fight broke out in the office- punches were thrown. Barry, Brad, and Joseph had to break up the fight. Internal Affairs, the police union, and personnel were involved because of the fight. Chief Irons admonished me for not controlling the situation and all because of Chris's complete lack of good judgment."

Jill was shocked into silence.

"I suspended Forest for three weeks because he threw the first punch." Wesker continued. "I also suspended Chris for instigating the entire incident and told him that he wasn't allowed to ever date anyone in RPD or their family members ever again, and if he did, he should find another job elsewhere. However, as I stated, this rule only applies to Redfield."

"So…" Jill hesitated, but needed to ask. "It's ok that I'm seeing Officer Branagh?"

"Jill." Wesker said taking his normal stern tone of voice. "You have good instincts about people, you always display good judgment, and furthermore you are very principled and have an immense amount of self-disciplined, traits I wish more of your colleagues shared."

Jill smiled, but choked down a giggle.

"I trust that you will handle your relationship in an adult manner." Wesker added. "You are very trustworthy, and I know you won't disappoint me or cause a scandal in our unit."

"Thank you Captain Wesker." Jill said graciously. "I won't embarrass you or S.T.A.R.S."

Wesker smiled back, but didn't say anything about her declaration.

"Ironically enough this was everything I was planning on mentioning in your review today." He said changing gears. "I guess the only thing left to tell you is I'm giving you a 10% pay increase."

-End-


End file.
